By Colleen Nelson
When the old grandstand at the Greene County Fairgrounds was taken down in 1986, this photo made the papers. I’ve added another photo to the story from 1959 that shows the grandstand in its heyday, every seat filled and standing room only for the State Police Rodeo. The grandly cursive writing on the back of this original photograph from Cornerstone Genealogical Society archives tells us that Andrew Jesalasky is with his horse. Only part of him is still there to be seen but the excitement of the day is captured in the restless energy of his horse’s tail, caught in mid-swish.
Between those two dates I’m sure many remember climbing the wooden steps to sit where others sat since 1910 when the massive structure was built in record time to accommodate the crowds who came to the fair of 1911.
Waynesburg had been without a fair for eight long years when the Sayers farm was purchased in 1910 and the track was graded in time for that first fair. Festivities were cancelled after two days because of rain but the horses and a couple of motorcycles still ran. Fairgoers in 1912 were treated to their first air show, with Birdman Joe Stevenson and his eight-cylinder, 80 horsepower plane. The crowds were delighted but when the weather grew inclement later in the week, Joe crashed on takeoff and broke his collarbone. More than 100 horses registered to run for the $10,000 in prizes and premiums and an estimated crowd of 7000 came to the fair on Thursday alone.
By the time the 1913 fair rolled around, an exhibit hall had been built to accommodate the farm bounty that came to be judged. By now the word was out and 25,000 people came to visit. Greene County’s fair fell between the ones in Washington and Wheeling and a 200-foot horse stable was added to accommodate the racers who came to run for the money.
By 1914, the purse had doubled to $20,000, auto racing was added and Indianapolis 500 winner Rene Thomas driving The Firestone Bullet was the headliner.
In 1915, livestock judging for boys and girls was the new thing and 70 kids showed their animals in four classes.
With a world war on the horizon, the county purchased the now 27-acre fairgrounds from the fair association in 1940. The fair of 1941 drew over 10,000 visitors, then the county and the nation hunkered down and directed all resources to the war effort.
There would not be another fair in Waynesburg until 1945. That year the county celebrated by building an indoor ring for cattle exhibitions (remember there were food, including meat rations, along with gasoline during the war years) with bleachers to seat 1200.
World War II took men and women from the farm who never returned and the post war economy caused more families to either leave farming or take second jobs to supplement their income.
By the time the State Police Rodeo was drawing crowds to fill the grandstand at the Greene County Fairgrounds in 1958, farming was no longer the economic mainstay it had been for more than 200 years and farm families working outside jobs had less time to get ready for the fair. But going to the county fair was now an American tradition that is still with us today.
The Greene County Fair remains a fun filled window into agriculture as it adapts to 21st century living, and the fairground is still a great county resource, with stalls to rent to horse owners, land to ride on and buildings where public events can happen.
Today’s grandstand has seen plenty of use, both above, where the seats face the racetrack and below where food vendors set up for every big celebration the fairground hosts, from the Lions Club 4th of July to the Sheep and Fiber Festival in May. As of today, any plans for large gatherings have been canceled until further notice as America and the rest of the world work together to flatten the curve of COVID-19. It looks like it’s our generation’s turn to hunker down and direct all our efforts to securing a brighter tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing you again someday at the Greene County Fair! Until then, be safe.
Much of this information can be found in G. Wayne Smith’s two-volume History of Greene County, sourced primarily from the microfilm archives of the Waynesburg Republican. Journalist Tara Kinsel did a great job collecting many of these facts for her coverage of the Greene County Fair in 2003. Thanks, Tara!
